News Summary: US service firms grew at slower pace

News Summary: US service firms grew at slower pace in April on reduced activity, stable prices

SERVICE SLOWDOWN: Growth at U.S. service companies slowed in April as companies reported less business activity and couldn't raise their prices. The Institute for Supply Management's index of non-manufacturing activity fell to 53.1 in April from 54.4 in March. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion.

LESS CONSUMER DEMAND: The decline in the index suggests some service companies may be starting to see less consumer demand, in part because of higher Social Security taxes that took effect Jan. 1.

STEEP DROP IN PRICES: April's weakness in was largely because of a steep drop in a measure of prices. Nearly 70 percent of companies surveyed said they didn't change their prices last month, while 10 percent lowered them.

A federal judge in Michigan on Wednesday revoked his order requiring a recount of the state's presidential vote sought by Jill Stein, siding with a state appeals court that found the Green Party candidate had no grounds to mount the challenge. U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith's ruling has the effect of halting the recount in Michigan, at least for now, following conflicting rulings a day earlier by federal and state appeals courts. The Michigan Court of Appeals on Tuesday ordered the recount stopped, while the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Goldsmith's earlier decision and said the process should proceed.

After inadvertently sending out a promotional email on Wednesday regarding the NES Classic Edition, Best Buy sent out a clarification email later in the day to confirm that it would in fact have the hard-to-find console in stock at retail stores beginning on December 20th.
Last night, Oscar Muñoz ( @oscarinmv on Twitter ) received an email from Best Buy informing him that the NES Classic Edition would be "available in all Best Buy stores tomorrow, December 20." At the time, "tomorrow" was actually December 8th, which explains why Best Buy had to send another email minutes later explaining that NES Classic Edition consoles would actually be in stores on the 20th (via: @matthewrex ).
https://twitter.com/matthewrex/status/806661882941583360
Unsurprisingly, there will be limited quantities available, so if you want to grab an NES Classic Edition from Best Buy later this month, you'll probably need to be at your local store the minute it opens.
Nothing in the email suggests that any stock will be available on BestBuy.com , but it still might be worth keeping an eye out on the website come December 20th. We'll be sure to update this post if we hear anything definitive about the NES Classic Edition coming to Best Buy's website.
If you don't want to wait that long, Amazon said on Twitter earlier this week that it would have "exciting announcements to make in the coming week" for NES Classic Edition fans. We won't know for sure until the retailer shares more details, but we have to assume that means Amazon will have more units soon as well.

Christmas decoration is displayed at the Christmas market near the ‘Marienplatz’ square in Munich, Germany; a fan dressed as a stormtrooper waves a mini light saber during the Japan premiere of ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ in Tokyo, Japan; and a view of light shining through a gate during a media preview event for the new summer exhibition ‘Versailles: Treasures from the Palace’ at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia are some of the photos of the day. (AP/EPA/Getty/Reuters) See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr.

Donald Trump’s former campaign manager says the president-elect has already accomplished more in the month since his election than President Obama has in the last four years. “Donald Trump, in the first four weeks of his presidency, has done more to help this country than I think Barack Obama has done in the last four years,” Corey Lewandowski said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Tuesday. Lewandowski, an informal Trump adviser expected to join his administration, said Trump has a shown a stronger “commitment” to the U.S. military and American businesses than the Obama administration’s second term by vowing “to reduce the amount of government regulations so they can continue to grow” at a rate higher than the current economy.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama man convicted of killing a store clerk is scheduled to be executed Thursday, but lawyers for the former Eagle Scout are urging it be blocked because a judge overrode a jury recommendation in imposing the death sentence.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas' highest court on Thursday threw out a judge's ruling that could have allowed all married same-sex couples to get the names of both spouses on their children's birth certificates without a court order, saying it doesn't violate equal protection "to acknowledge basic biological truths."